It’s all that stands in the way of a volunteer effort to rebuild the high school concession stand.

District Business Manager Cathy Somich told the school board at a meeting Monday night that after a test of the entire structure, one of the doors was found to have lead paint on it.

An official told Somich this isn’t something that should hold up the process too long, but board members indicated that such a situation can sometimes drag out longer than expected.

“We don’t think this is a big deal. We have to note that we found it,” she said.

Proper disposal of the door will have to be approved by the state, now that the presence of lead has been discovered.

As for the boys’ locker room, the board has finally made a decision, though they did not officially vote on their choice.

After several months of discussion, examples and quotes, the board is opting to install a completely new set of welded, “Bulldog” lockers.

“The general consensus is everyone wants to go with the new bulletproof lockers,” school board president John Shaw said.

The lockers will be covered with galvanite; Superintendent Mark Bessen said this will make them corrosion resistant. The board is also debating on getting a paint finish that will help prevent chips. Without the paint finish, which costs a little less than $5,000, the project will cost $60,000, and it will come with a lifetime warrantee.

During the public comment period of the meeting, Board Member Suzanne McEachron spoke.

“We seem to have an increasing number of animals at sports games. It’s not at the paid games, but people are bringing dogs to the junior varsity games. People are also smoking at the games—they’re going behind the concession stand. We should have good signage,” McEachron said, adding that it’s often out-of-towners who bring their dogs.

Walter Bixby, a groundskeeper at the school, said there are a lot of signs posted around the track and fields, but many people ignore them. The board decided to look into further signage to prevent local sports fans from smoking at or bringing pets to games.

Panel discussion, forum

To open communication between the school district and the community, the board will hold a panel discussion at the end of the month regarding social issues.

A panel of local people, including Granville police, social workers, Rev. Jerry McKinney, sheriffs, parents, students and more, will be on hand to talk about such topics as drugs, alcohol and dating.

“We’ll see what we as a community can do to work together,” Bessen said. The discussion will take place Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in the high school library.

Bessen also mentioned an event taking place next month on Oct. 22 in Queensbury where a speaker will address and interact with community members from throughout the area. Bessen is looking for 12 leaders in the community to attend, as well as students and parents.

Appointments

The board also approved a number of substitute and coaching appointments during the meeting.

Duane Dodge will once again serve as varsity boys basketball coach, assisted by volunteer Chris Fuller. James Aldrich will coach the eighth-grade modified team.

Adam Burr will coach senior high school intramurals, and Carol Scott will be the girls modified soccer coach.

For the girls basketball team, Dan Brayton will be the junior varsity coach, Matt Hicks will serve for modified eighth grade and Arthur Vaughn will be the modified seventh-grade coach.

Athletic Director Stephen Palmer will be the varsity wrestling coach, Walter West will be the junior varsity wrestling coach, Cathy Kilby will once again coach bowling, Jay Condon will coach winter track and Lisa Roberts will be the cheering advisor.

The board accepted the resignation of cafeteria monitor Sheila Clarkson and appointed Lisa Morse to the same position, as well as Virginia Roberts and Cindy Krueger as bus monitors.

Joffrette Mackell, a certified teacher, was accepted as both an instructional substitute and a teaching assistant. Molly Conner, Edith Stanwood and Cheryl Najjar will serve as substitute bus drivers.

The next board of education meeting will take place Monday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.